Yttrium scandate crystals doped by Nd
3+ and Tm
3+ ions have been successfully grown in the form of fibers using the laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique. The selective laser spectroscopy methods have identified and distinguished three distinct types of optically active centers
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Yttrium scandate crystals doped by Nd
3+ and Tm
3+ ions have been successfully grown in the form of fibers using the laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique. The selective laser spectroscopy methods have identified and distinguished three distinct types of optically active centers associated with Nd
3+ and Tm
3+ ions. The substitution of Y
3+ and Sc
3+ for rare-earth ions in the
C2 structural site leads to the formation of two distinct basic long-time centers. In Nd
3+:YScO
3, another type of center (a short-lifetime one) is formed known as the Nd
3+–Nd
3+ aggregate pair. This center arises from the substitution of Y
3+ or Sc
3+ for Nd
3+ cation in the adjacent
MO
6 polyhedra that share an edge. In Tm
3+:YScO
3, the third optical center is formed as a result of the substitution of Y
3+ or Sc
3+ for Tm
3+ in the
MO
6 octahedra with the
C3i site symmetry. The fluorescence decay lifetimes of Nd
3+ and Tm
3+ ions in the YScO
3 crystal structure have been accurately measured and estimated. A Stark level diagram illustrating the splitting of
4F3/2,
4I11/2, and
4I9/2 multiplets of Nd
3+ ions has been constructed to show features of the active optical centers with the
C2 site symmetry.
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